There’s been a lot of buzz about the ability to look up “free foreclosure listings” using Google Maps, so I figured I’d get on-board as well and post instructions.
Update: They have since removed the option to see real estate listings from within the map view, so you’ll have to use a more traditional (but still free) service like Redfin, Trulia, or Zillow.
It was certainly a nice feature, but it seems not enough individuals were actually using it.
Google Maps Used to Offer a Real Estate Search
- You could see local real estate listings
- In the map section of your choice
- Including properties that were for sale
- And even foreclosure listings pulled from third-party sites
When in Google Maps, simply type in an address where you want to conduct your search.
On the map in the top-left corner, you’ll see options such as traffic, more, map, satellite, earth, etc.
Click on “more,” then select “real estate.”
Doing so will highlight all the real estate for sale in the viewable area of the map – it will also bring up a real estate search box to the left of the map where you can fine tune your search.
How to Fine Tune Your Search
- There are a variety of radio buttons
- Including a foreclosure option
- That will let you see only certain types of listings on the map
- You can also select a specific price range to limit the results
You’ll notice a “foreclosure” radio button that can be checked – this will highlight all the foreclosures in a given area.
If you want to single out foreclosures, simply uncheck the “for sale” button and leave the “foreclosure” button checked and you will see all the foreclosure listings in the area.
Zoom in and out to narrow or expand your search, and simply drag the map while holding down the mouse to move to different areas.
If you only want to look at foreclosure listings within a specific price range, use the pricing box to limit the breadth of your foreclosure search.
Once you click on a specific foreclosure listing, a link to a foreclosure website, such as RealtyTrac, will direct you to a website that requires a membership to see all the details.
In summary, this is a handy tool to get you on your way to buying a foreclosure, or at least entertain you…it’s always surprising to see how many foreclosures there are in a certain area, especially when it appears untouched by the epidemic.
Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com